I hate Halloween, but I had one of the best weekends of my life last week. First, the party to start DGO, then on to candles, wine and spooky things in the cemetery, walking around in my underwear and calling it a costume, throwing water balloons at “zombies,” and to wrap it up, brunch that lasted till 2 p.m., then skinny dipping in the river next to a keg of Euphoria.
Yes, swimming in the river on Nov. 1. It feels like summer may never end. But it will end and it’ll be cold and icy and dark, and we won’t be able to go skinny dipping to see each other naked. So what do we do? We Netflix and chill.
Netflix and chill is the new booty call, but more of a casual cuddly booty call, a booty call with pajamas and popcorn. Finding the right beer and snack to go with what we’re watching (or not watching) is just as important as good hygiene and a comfy, clean space. If things don’t go as well as we hope, at least we’ll both have something good to drink.
A new season of “The Gilmore Girls” is on the way, so I kind of want to get into the emotional mother-daughter duo of Rory and Lorelai Gilmore. For a snack, I’m thinking some rice cakes, and to drink, Snow Capped Cider. The tartness of this cider from Cedaredge will keep us on our toes no matter how whiny Lorelai gets, and the refreshing sweetness and dry finish go perfect with Rory’s sense of humor.
But maybe we didn’t get enough horror in the month of October. Lucky for us, “American Horror Story” has four seasons on Netflix as well as new episodes from its fifth season on FX. Dark chocolate from Animas Chocolate Co. will pair perfectly with Fade To Black, an export stout from Left Hand Brewing. When I inevitably need to cover my eyes, I’ll just dip my whole head into this award-winning beer. The smoked malt brings out rich roasted notes of coffee and cocoa as well some hints of dark fruits. Fade to Black is also a winter seasonal, so we should drink it while we can.
If you’re not into the horror thing but want something intense, “Roadhouse” is about as intense as we can get. Some things are so bad they’re good, and “Roadhouse,” Slim Jims and Miller High Life are a perfect threesome. The Champagne of Beers will go great with spicy dried sausage, roundhouse kicks, a monster truck destroying a car dealership, babes in hot tubs and Patrick Swayze’s steely gaze.
Ultimately, if romance is the goal, we should watch “The Best of Me.” Nicholas Sparks’ formula for making audiences cry through intense love and tragic death might be getting old, but this is what we need. “The Best of Me” is kind of long, so we’re gonna want a lot of snacks (popcorn is easy and light). But to handle all the heavy feels, we probably want a heavy beer, so I’m picking up a growler of Jesus, a well balanced Imperial IPA from BREW Pub & Kitchen. When we’re turned into knots over sadness and joy, and our muscles ache from so many sobs, don’t worry; Jesus is brewed with yarrow, which is supposed to help with cramping.
More important than picking something good to watch, good to drink and good to munch on, is being a good date. If you want to keep chillin, please be courteous (let me cuddle), be polite (no judging my viewing history) and be safe (don’t get me sick). And yeah, hit me up; let’s chill.
Robert Alan Wendeborn puts the bubbles in the beer at Ska Brewing Co. His first book of poetry, “The Blank Target,” was published this past spring by The Lettered Streets Press and is available at Maria’s Bookshop. [email protected]
